Release Date:
Friday, October 22, 2004
Surviving Christmas stuffs Ben Affleck down your chimney two months ahead of schedule and somehow manages to make premature Christmas cheer even more obnoxious. Hollywood's holiday season kicks off with lonely millionaire Drew (Affleck) dropping 250 grand for a random family (headlined by dad James Gandolfini) to take him in as one of their own for Christmas. But wait, there's more believable plot points to cover! The family has a daughter (Christina Applegate) who happens to be the same age as Drew and just might be the kind of beautiful, grounded woman who can make him a man with values. As Drew continues to annoy his new family, the comedic gaps continue to annoy us. Intended laughs come in a flurry of slapstick—Affleck catching it in the back of the head from a snow shovel is the lone highlight—but the majority of the mindless gags fall flat. Ultimately, watching Affleck headline a comedy yields more awkward silences than your family's last holiday meal and proves that Christmas should only be celebrated in November, December, and TNT reruns.